Four GED tests

The GED exam is comprised of four independent subject tests: Reasoning through Language Arts (150 minutes), Mathematical Reasoning (115 minutes), Social Studies (70 minutes), and Science (90 minutes). These subtests must be completed within a 2-year period of time. HiSET and TASC testing is done through five tests. The Literacy section has separate tests in Language Writing and Language Reading. The TASC and HiSET will require just under 8 hours to complete. In California, each GED subject test (module) cost $35 (so $140 for the entire GED battery). TASC and HiSET are cheaper.

GED and the economy

Several of California’s major school districts (such as Sacramento City USD and Los Angeles USD) needed to close their GED testing centers in 2014. The overhaul of the GED program was coming after a financially difficult period during which many districts had to cut down on their expenses for adult education. The Sacramento School District, due to significant cuts of in total $12.5 million to adult education programs over the past few years, did not possess the funds to buy computers and other resources to become a Pearson VUE approved GED testing site.

So after lengthy discussions, California’s Department of Education together with the state Board of Education came to the conclusion that it would be beneficial to move forward with some other options. Now California is also offering the high school equivalency assessment models developed by Educational Testing Service (HiSET) and CTB/McGraw-Hill (TASC). These two alternatives are considerably cheaper than the new GED exam and are offered in both computer-based and paper-based formats.

The shift to the new GED exam is challenging for adults who are not familiar with computer-based testing and they are surely not prepared to deal with the more difficult testing content. Several other states have also adopted paper-based examination models that are different from the GED content that is published by Pearson VUE.

Loans for high school students

It may seem a little bit out of order here, but there are actually more and more parents who, when their child struggles in public high school, don’t want their child to go the GED way, but prefer the switch to a private high school. Okay, let’s take a look at some further details.

However misunderstood the topic of high school loans proves to be, the fact of the matter is that many American high school students rely on high school loans to finance their education.

According to statistics derived from the United States Department of Education, the national average expense of private high school education for one academic year costs each student an estimated $16,000 in the year 2014.

Statistics also go on to show the cost of private high school education climbs at a steadily increasing rate each and every year. Even with such exorbitant costs, many parents feel their children will highly benefit from a private high school education.

In 2015, an estimated 1.35 million of the 16.25 million high school students attend private schools according to the National Center for Education statistics. Some of the purported benefits of a private school experience include:

College preparatory environment

Lower student to teacher ratio than public schools

A community of learning and growth

Highly involved guidance counselors and advisers

Stricter disciplinary and behavior guidance codes

Higher graduation and college acceptance rates

Higher standardized testing scores

Higher educational experience satisfaction for parents and students Clearly, given the constant news of dropout rates and failings among the public education systems, a private high school experience offers students a huge help when facing the inevitable period of selecting and applying to colleges. For parents, the choice to utilize high school loans to finance a child’s enhanced future is understandably a commendable one.

Placing children in college preparatory high school programs is the best route for parents wishing their children to experience successful and lucrative future careers. At the end of the day, the investment in a private school experience will most likely pay off exponentially for students and parents alike. Do not let economic misconceptions to deter the prospective high school students from a premier education when ample resources for funding private school education are available.

Finding financing for private schools usually begins with the school itself. As part of the appreciation of the private school experience, many alumni prove generous enough to provide endowments or other general scholarship funds. In other cases, the school itself might have in place a general scholarship pool, financial aid assistance, or endowment, which allows deserving and desiring students to attend a given institution. When parents and students exhaust these options, further help finding high school loans is available.

Private lending companies currently offer prospective or current high school students the option to finance their private education via loan products. One popular example comes in the form of the AchieverLoan offered by KeyBank. AchieverLoans presents parents alternatives to financing a private kindergarten through twelfth-grade experience. Another similarly popular choice includes JP Morgan & Chase Co. The lending institution aids families wishing to fund primary and high school level education specifically through the Chase Education One Loan. Borrowers with excellent credit are offered up to $30,000 dollars annually with interest rate reductions based on creditworthiness as well as the option to set up automatic monthly withdrawals for billing.

A third bank offering options in the high school loan arena is Citibank. Citibank offers the Citiassist program, which allows approved borrowers to utilize $15,000 annually to fund a private education. Additionally, with the Citiassist program, co-signers can back loans and reduce interest rates greatly. Overall, students and parents truly wishing for an exceptional private school experience have a plethora of resources at their command currently. Contacting for more assistance is the next simple step.